Of course, the hesitation on the part of the Democrats to
throw one of their own from the train (albeit deservedly) only increased the
criticism from Republicans, some of whom challenged House Minority Leader Nancy
Pelosi and DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz to answer whether they “believe[d]
members of Congress are held to a different set of ethical standards.”[1]
Of course, in due time, the Democratic party made their denunciations, Weiner
apologized for his idiocy and resigned in an attempt to make up for his stupid
behavior.
Not perfect, but this might be the closest example to a
group of contemporary politicians properly handling a party scandal. The
leading Democrats, from Congress to the White House, all distanced themselves
from the actions of their fellow party member. They made it clear that they,
both as individuals and as an entire party, do not in any way condone or
associate with what Anthony Weiner did and said.
Shifting focus to the other side of the aisle, we see an
entirely separate slew of idiocy. Following Todd Akin’s dissertation regarding
the distinction between illegitimate and legitimate rape, a Senate hopeful from
Indiana, Richard Mourdock made this statement during a campaign debate:
“…even
when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that is something that God
intended to happen…”
Perhaps he misspoke, in claiming, through some twisted
logic, that rape-pregnancies should be considered some kind of gift from god.
We can only hope so. However, his comments in the aftermath of this debate were
rather ambiguous. Instead of making an effort to rescind his offensive
comments, Mourdock merely said that he “cannot unring the bell” and he “cannot
put the toothpaste back in the tube.”[2]
So, his regret lies not in the fact that he said something horrible and stupid,
but that voters found out he believes something horrible and stupid.
Of course Democrats reacted to these remarks like a coyote
pouncing upon a defenseless field mouse, as did anyone who is even slightly
hesitant about categorizing one of the most heinous human actions as just
another thing God intended.
And of course Republicans saw through the bloodlust
obscuring their vision now that Election Day is in sight. Of course even the
comrades of Mourdock could understand how downright stupid his comments were,
how blatantly offensive and archaic they were. One can at least dream.
And one must continue to dream, at least if one would like
to treat the above scenario as reality. Take Mitt Romney, just as an example.
Unfortunate timing caused a television commercial, in which Romney endorses and
urges fellow Republicans to support Mourdock, to air just about the same time
as Mourdock made his gift-rape comments. Romney’s reaction was, the day after
the debate, have a spokeswoman make a statement that Romney “disagrees with
Richard Mourdock, and Mr.Mourdock's comments do not reflect Gov. Romney's views,”[3]
which is a statement that amounts to nothing more than lip service to the
actual issue. The Presidential-hopeful has made no effort to retract his
endorsement of Mr. Gift-Rape.
This all raises the question of what the Republicans
actually believe. Clearly, the party’s social policy has been hijacked by a
bunch of religious fundamentalists who believe the Christian Bible should be
treated as the basis for all Western law. And these recent statements only seem
to reinforce the misogynist and otherwise bigoted views being adopted by the
Republican Party, views that are not in the slightest being challenged by the
more moderate conservatives. And people are still voting Republican?
A little less than two weeks ago, mere days before Mourdock
enlightened the American public, Ben Stein made an appearance on Fox News. During
his segment on the air, Mr. Stein made a shocking comment: "Taxes are too
low." He said this amidst a thousand apologies. Before he finished
speaking, Stein was apologizing. He was well aware, unlike Mourdock and Akin,
of how truly offensive this statement could be. He wondered whether he would be
“allowed to leave here alive,” even while daring to suggest that the best period
of economic growth in the United States was when taxes were highest. His
comments left the Fox & Friends crew, and conservatives nationwide,
stunned.
The Republican Party, where misogyny, bigotry and racism
are accepted, but calling for higher taxes is an offense deserving of exile.
No comments:
Post a Comment